Wheel.



PAT'BNTBD APR. 23, 1907.

J. STUART.

WHEEL.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T. 5. 190e.

v Fig. 3, that is, I prefera UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH STUART, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

WHEEL.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH STUART, a citizen of the United States, residingin Wilmington, Delaware, have invented certain Improvements in Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide means for lubricating a loose running wheel, of the type commonly used on mine cars, in such manner that a supply of lubricant shall be forced to the points where it is needed, regardless of the speed at which the wheel is turned. v

I further desire to provide a wheel with a novel form of removable bushing, which bushing shall itself be of chilled metal and split in order not only to facilitate its manufacture, but to assist in the distribution of the lubricant to the shaft axle.

I further desire to provide novel means for retaining a loose running wheel, either with .or without a removable bushing, upon its supporting axle or shaft.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the various parts of the device that it shall be practically impossible for grit or foreign matter to obtain access to the bearing surfaces of the axle and bushing.

These objects and other advantageous ends I secure as hereafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1, is a side elevation of a wheel equipped with my invention; Fi 2, is a vertical section on the line 2 2, `ig. 1, illustrating the detail construction and arrangement of my invention Fig. 3, is a perspective view of the bushing usually employed as part of my invention; and F ig. 4, is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 2, illustrating the detail construction of the grease feeding device.

In the above drawing, A represents a portion of the body of a car provided with any desired form of pedestal B in which is carried an axle or shaf t C. Said axle has near its. end an annular groove c and fitting upon it is an externally tapered bushing D, preferably of iron chilled both internally and externally.

In order that it may be commercially pos sible to manufacture a bushing of this construction, I make it in split form as shown in extending in a general longitudinal line in its side. Said slot is so placed as to lie 1n any `line notparallel with the axis of the bushing;

it being preferably made spiral or extended in Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 5,

ly cast it with a slot Patented April 23, 1907.

1906.' Serial No. 337,589.

some other line at an angle to the bushing axls.

The hubof the wheel E is internally tapered to receive the buslijn D and is closed on the outside face; there ein a ring e of fibrous packing interposed in the space defined by the hub, the axle and the adjacent end faces of the bushing D and of the pedes-l tal B. The hub is cored at e to form a recess for the reception of a key e2, which key is de. signed to pass through a transverse slot d in the bushing D and enter the annular groove c of the axle C.

The recess e in the hub of the wheel is made of such depth that it will let the key drop back into it for a distance sufficient to ermit the axle to be withdrawn from the ushing D and said ke Ais held so as to project through the slot o said bushing and enter the groove c, b means of a bolt es extending into the hul; from its outer face and held from moving by a washer e.

In order to lubricate the axle, I provide Van enlargement of the hub or of the spokes of the wheel, as indicated at e5, forming in this a cylinder e which extends in a line substantially parallel to the axis of the wheel andv communicatesthrough a passage e7 with the slot d of the bushing D. In said cylinder, I place a plunger es, provided with any suitable form of washers e on its innerface to serve as packing to prevent the escape, of grease confined by it within the cylinder e". T his lunger is provided at its outer end with two aterally extending arms eo and between these and the body of thewheel I provide a pair of tension springs e, whereby the plnger is continually pressed into the cyl- 1n er.

In order to assemble the various arts of the device the bushing D is inserte( in the tapered bore of 'the hub and the key ezis dro pcd through the transverse slot d of said) bushing, which, it will be understood, has been brou ht into a position 180 Vfrom that shown in Fig. 1, so that said key will enter the recess e of the hub. With the wheel in this position, the bushing is driven home and inasmuch as said recess e' is of sufficient depth to allow the key to enter it far enough to prevent its pro'ecting into the bushing, the axle may now e inserted and the wheel turned through one-half a revolution. This causes the key e2 to drop into the annular roove c of said axle, when the bolt es may be inserted and screwed .up, thus securing not IOC IIO

only the wheel to the axle but maintaining the bushing, axle, and wheel from independent movement in the line ofthe axle and also reventing relative movement of the Whe and the bushing. Under these conditions, the slot d of the `bushing D crosses the channel e7 from the cylinder e, so that underoperating conditions the pressure of the plunger upon the grease in, said cylinder, under the action of the springs elf, causes said grease to be forced into the groove or slot d and permits it to thoroughly and continuously lubricate the axle within the bushing.

It may be noted that the groove d of the bushing D serves a two-fold purpose, since it not only permits the casting and chilling of the bushing Where this has hitherto been found impractical owing to the cracking which invariably occurred when the bushing cooled, but itl also acts as a distributer of lubricant to the entire length of the axle bearing. Said groove also obviates the difficulty hitherto invariably encountered when it was attempted to remove the bushing from the mandrel on which it was cast.

It will be understood that it is not advisable to form the groove d parallel to the general line of the bushing or to the line of the axle, since under these circumstances it would cause cutting of the latter.. I, therefore, preferably give it a general spiral form,

though it may be given any-other desirable form without departing from my invention.

I claim.:

1. The combination of an axle, a bushing thereon, and a wheel fitting said bushing, said bushing being loose in the wheel and removable therefrom, with a key placed to retain the wheel and the bushing on said axle, substantially as described.

2. The combination of an axle having an annular groove, a bushing on said axle having a slot, and a Wheel on the bushing, said bushing being loose in the wheel and removable therefrom, with a key fitting in a recess in the wheel and passing through the slot in the bushing into the groove of the axle, substantially as described.

3. The combination of an axle having an annular groove, a bushing on the axle having a slot, a Wheel having a recess in'its hub, said bushing being loose in thegwheel and removable therefrom, with a radially movable key extending into the .recess of the wheel and through the slot of the bushing into the groove of the axle, substantially as described.

4. The combination of an'axle having an annular groove, a bushing on the axle having a slot, a wheel having a recess in its hub, and a radially movable key extending into the recess of the wheel and through the slot of the bushing into the groove of the axle, the recess in the wheel being of a sufficient depth to permit movement into it oi' said key, and a bolt Jfor holding the key so that it projects into the groove ofthe axle, substanti ally as described.

5. The combination with an axle, of a split bushing thereon, and a wheel on the bushing, with means for maintaining the wheel and the bushing in position on the axle while preventing relative movement of said wheel and bushing, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a wheel, an internally and externally chilled and split bushing fitted to the hub thereof, with means for pren venting rotation of the bushing relatively to the Wheel, an axle fitted to the bushing, with means for maintaining the wheel and bushing in operative position on the axle, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a wheel having a tapered hollow in its hub, an internally tapered bushing tted to said hollow, the said bushing being split and chilled both externally and internally, an axle fitted to the bushing, with a key forI maintaining the axle, bushing and wheel in the proper relative positions to compel said wheel and bushing to turn as a unit on the axle, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a wheel, an internally and externally chilled bushing fitted to the hub thereof, said bushing being split in a line extending in a direction other than parallel to its axis, an axle tting said bushing, with means for maintaining the bushing and wheel in proper relative positions, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOSEPH STUART.

Witnesses HARRY C. TAZEWELL, HARRY B. CARTER.

IOO 

